Bearing construction



Nov. 25, 1930. l P. c. BRUCKMANN 1,782,710

B E'RING CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 25, 1926 Cas c d f 1,782,710 'n 'To voncLoNE COMPANY, A coRroiaaTIoiv or Wisconsin 1` BEARING Coivs'rBLU'einen'` y `Application mea February a5, 192e. seriaijuo; 903162.`

."lhis'invention pertains to bearing con` structioiisfwand more particularly Ito a construction for flexible vertical bearings such` as are used to mountthe rotating element of `centrifugal driers and the like.

In the mounting of a bearing of this type, thebearing sleeve is usually supported in a stationary support by clamping the same betWeen a pair of rubber Washers so that it may i. be resilient in order to relieve the strains in# cident to an unbalanced load in the rotating element. In accordance with the usual construction, these rubber Washers are held by a clamping nut. rThe bearing sleeve itself is usually provided With an enlarged head'providing an oil reservoir. Thepulley which,

it cannot be removed While the head is in place. One of theobjects of this invention, therefore, is to provide an improved con struction for such bearings in Which the beari ying sleeve and its head may be formed integrally of one casting so that'leakage at the i connections is eliminated. Another object is `to provide for accessibility so that the bearing maybe adjusted Without dismounting the rotating ele-ment; i v

Further objects Will appear Vfromthe following description taken in connection With the accompanying'drawing in Which Figure 1 is a view in elevation of a centrifugal drier hav- -invention Figure 2 is anenlarge vertical section of bearing, and Figure 3 is a top view j of Figure 2.

- 1 designates acentrifuge which in the iiinut is underneath this enlarged head 4Where ing the bearing construction embodying this Referring to the accompanying dravviiig'g,

stanceillustrated lisl'lalaundry drier. This `may bedriven by a `belt @from ldrivingf head equipped with fast` and" loose pulleys V4Lmd5whichmay beA belted to yany suitable source of power not shovvn. 6 designatesthe shaft of the rotating element. Thefshaft 6 f STATES rumano., BRucKMANiv, or sT LOUIS, MISSOURI, assfGiioItLlfBniasivn ASSIGNMENTS;

is mounted in abearing sleeve 7 Vhaving an enlarged'head- 8 providingan oil reservoir.- Thesleeve'iand the head v8 niay`jbe formed iny 6o normally closed attlie bottom `butprovided l tegrally of a singlecasting, `andthe sleeveis with a drain plugr9.; The sleeve 7 is resiliently mounted in a support. lOiWQhichin turnis mounted onithe'base oftliecentrifuge;

VIn orderto make the sleeve 7 easily remov- `vided `with altapered portion`11 iittinga cory"65 able` from itsiiiountingfnsaidjsleeve is prorespondingly tapered socket 12 provided with; j

a circumferential "rib 13. lThe rib 13 is clamped-between resilient Washers 14 ofrubber orother resilient material, the lower lone. of which `rests upon a flange 15 on the `interior ofthe support `10. Thesewashers are clamped esainstvthe rib w13 bv adjusting-nut 165 a bearing Washer f 17 being interposed j there-v between. The nut lisprovided at intervals therearouiid With keyways `18 and the supportl() is provided with a corresponding lreyway 19.-` After adjustment ofl the nut 16, one of the keyways `1 8 is brought into registry Withthe keyWay 19, and a key 2O` is inserted i to lock the n-utin adjusted position.

A pulley 21 is, mounted on the shaftv 6 Y as to overhang the bearing and its support 10 in the usuall manner; This pulley, `:however, has improved` features of construction. The 'hub 22`is secured to the shaft in any usualfmaiinerand connected to the rim by i a 'spider liavinga series' otarms 23.1 The spaces Vbetween `the arnis"23 andabovethe` N upper edgeof the pulley rim are `open sogas j to provide access through the pulley loradf* justment ofthenutl. These openings `are large enouglifso that a" suitable toolmay be inserted and moved for making such adjustment; f Y

`The ariisQS I with alfin Qllloutstanding from the armfso as toprovide'a fangJ'lhesemins ojierate `to set "are further provided` leach the sleeve.

up a strong draft of air when the pulley is pelling fins on said arms, whereby air will rotating.

It will be seen that this invention provides a simple and rugged construction for an or dinary iiexible bearing and one which is easy to operate. The mounting of the sleeve 7 in a separate socket 12, which latter is resiliently mounted in the bearing support, renders it possible to remove the bea-ring sleeve 7 without disturbing the rest of the mounting. In previous constructions the rib 13 was formed directly on the sleeve 7 so that the nut 16, being underneath the head 8, could not be removed unless said head was removable from In accordance with the present construction, this head and the sleeve 7 may be formed of a single casting so that the necessity for a joint between them is eliminated and there is no possibility for leakage of oil at such joint.

The pulley construction providing the open spider, renders it possible to adjust the clamping nut 16 without distributing the mounting of the rotating element, a feature which saves a great deal of time in caring for such a machine. The provision of the fan blades on the pulley provides a draft of air which may be used to cool the head 8 and thereby cool the bearing 7. By keeping the oil in the head 8 continually cool, a circulation may be set up through the bearing which assists materially in preventing undue heating thereof. The draft of air is drawn upwardly through the interior of the pulley and impinges on the under side of the head 8, after which it passes outwardly through the openings in the spider. The upper parts of the fins 24 also by disturbing the air in its path causes a draft to be directed downwardly on the top of the head 8. This draft impinges upon a series of radiating ribs 25 formed on the top of the head 8 and extending in an angular direction against the rotation of the pulley as indicated by the arrow in Figure 3.

It can be seen, therefore, that this invention accomplishes its object in providing a bearing construction of simple design which is easy to manipulate, and rugged and durable in service.

It is obvious that various changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit of this invention; it is to be understood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to the specific details shown and described.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

Y In a device of the character described, the combination of a vertical shaft, a bearing enclosing the lower end of the shaft and havlng an oil reservoir vertically above the end of the shaft, a pulley encircling the bearing below said reservoir, arms extending from the pulley across said reservoir and secured to said shaft above said reservoir, and air probe caused to circulate past the reservoir.

In testimony whereof I aHiX my signature this 23rd day of February, 1926.

PETER C. BRUCKMANN.

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